Clerking

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The process of engaging in administrative work that involves record-keeping, correspondence management, and supporting operational decisions
2. A function involving the handling of administrative responsibilities, organization of documents, and effective communication in an office setting
3. Carrying out tasks such as filing, managing records, and assisting with office duties

Etymology: The word "clerking" is simply the present participle and gerund of "clerk," so its story is really the story of "clerk," which has a surprising path. The sense that now means someone who keeps records or handles office paperwork is actually a narrowing of a much older meaning: a clergyman. Clerks were once the learned men of the church, the few people who could read and write, and that literacy gradually became associated with secretarial and record-keeping work rather than with holy orders. The root goes back to the Greek "klēros," meaning "lot" or "inheritance," originally a shard used in casting lots. The Greek adjective "klērikos," meaning "of the clergy," passed through Late Latin "clēricus," meaning "priest" but also more generally "learned man," and into Old English as "clerc." English thus has "clerk" and "cleric" as doublets, two forms of one word that entered the language by different routes.